Q&A with…Bruce Bowen

Bruce Bowen has been retired for four seasons, yet his legacy still lives on in San Antonio. Not only did the Spurs retire his jersey in honor of the role he played on three championship teams, they’re using his example as a defensive stopper hoping to mold current small forward Kawhi Leonard.

With the Lakers coming to town tomorrow, it’s an opportune time to check in with Bowen on his battles with Kobe Bryant, his assessment of Leonard and more. (In addition to serving as an analyst for ESPN, Bowen hosts his own podcast — NBA Lockdown with Bruce Bowen — every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.)

How much did you get up for Kobe Bryant?

I enjoyed it a great deal. More importantly, getting a chance to show my skill set. Anytime you’re playing the Lakers, it wasn’t just about Kobe. But I knew I had a key role, which was to limit him as much as I could. I enjoyed it. More than that, I enjoyed the matchup as a whole. It was epic, the best in basketball. Two different styles, two teams who didn’t deviate much from what they did. It was good basketball, no matter what.

How often did you leave the court feeling like you’d gotten the best of him?

I never did that, because when you think that way, you’re done. There are moments when he got the best of me and vice versa. But even in that, it was always, this page has been turned, now I’m looking forward to the next game. There were always two ways of thing thinking. He got best of me and I need to improve, or I got the best of him and he’s going to come at me even harder next time.

A lot of opponents didn’t like you, but with Kobe I got the sense he respected you.

I think early on when we first started really competing it was, ‘Who is this guy?’ It wasn’t a mutual respect then. Not that you don’t respect other players. You know they’re good, but you don’t want to say they’re good. We both went through that early on, but it changed to, I have the utmost respect for this individual, because every night we play each other, it’s going to be good basketball as far as making me work. It grew into a respect.

Was there ever a Kobe moment that still wakes you up in a cold sweat?

No, I definitely don’t wake up thinking about Kobe now, nor did I when I played. When I think of Kobe I think of someone how is going to compete to the end, up 20 or down 20. He’s going to keep trying to figure out a way to keep his team (alive). If that means shooting every time, so be it. So you never get a chance to relax. Scorers only need to see the ball go in once, and they’re in a rhythm. So whenever we were on the court together, I knew he could go for 40 every time, and it was my job to limit that.

Now that you’re retired, how would you rate the job you did on him over the years?

Eh, it’s not for me. It’s for you guys (to judge). It doesn’t matter to me now. I have three championships, he has five. What I enjoy now is watching other guys get excited when it comes to limiting the other guy on the floor. That’s the joy of the game. I still shoot Tim a text when I see him block a dunk, or dunk on someone.

Speaking of current players, what is your assessment of Kawhi Leonard?

When you say defense, you have to think of people’s feet. But when you look at Kawhi, he’s long. Sometimes long guys play a different type of defense, where they can space guys, whereas I got up in guys and used quickness. When I talk about him, you don’t know what he’s going to be. You don’t want to limit him. You want him to be comfortable. So whenever I speak to him, it’s never about, ‘You need to do this, this way or that, that way.” The game will dictate (his playing style).

He’s a tremendous ball thief, but steals don’t always equate to good defense.

No it doesn’t. (Allen Iverson) led the league in steals one year, and I don’t think anyone will say he was a good defender. It’s just different things (Kawhi) can do. He could match up better with a Carmelo than me. That was different for me. I had to use quickness to make up for lack of size. Those are things people might not pay attention to. I was still skinny…but Kawhi, he’s not skinny. He carries his weight. I had to do different things – front, deny. But that’s what helped me be who I was. I had to make up for my weaknesses.

Can Leonard be as good a straight-up stopper as you were?

I think he can. It’s just a matter of getting reps and believing, learning the league. You guard everybody differently. There’s an art to pick and roll defense. You have to have great instincts. Sometimes you see guys lay into a screen. Whatever your philosophy is, you have to do it full out, and prepare for it before the screen happens. You have to get into it real quick. For example, Kawhi on Steve Nash, the thing I would tell you, use length and don’t get into him because he’s crafty. (Kawhi) is long and gangly, and Steve can use that to draw fouls. With Kobe, he’s running that pick and roll not just to get pass, but to attack. So you have to get into it quickly.

How long did it take you to get comfortable enough to react rather than think?

It didn’t take me long, because I was different. I was trying to make a name for myself. The first game I played in, it was for one minute. For the rest of my year, I watched. When I was coming up, you had to play defense to stay on the floor. I was guarding Tim Hardaway, Vashon Leonard, Dan Majerle, Jamaal Mashburn in practice. Tim and I played one-on-one every day. I had quickness — that was my talent — and I wasn’t going to quit. So defense wasn’t hard for me. It just wasn’t, for whatever reason. But learning to become the player I became in Miami, which wasn’t a slasher but a spot-up shooter, that was the difficult part because I was doing something different. If you can knock down shots in this game, there’s a place for you. There are times when I first came in, they said I couldn’t shoot, so that was something I worked hard on. I had Stan Van Gundy shagging balls for me (in practice). Stan would sweat like he was playing. My thought was this – if these guys are working this hard for me, I better work hard as well.

Were you always a defensive-minded player?

No, people always think that’s what I knew I was going to do. No, it was a way to get on the floor. People want to call me a defensive stopper — go ahead, I’m on the floor. So that’s what I understood early on, because in college, I guarded the top guys, but I was a scorer as well. So it was a matter of trying my best to limit him, but I got mine, too. But I averaged 30 points in the CBA and Europe. Then I got to the league, and I wasn’t getting those shots. So it wasn’t about (specializing in defense) to me. It just so happen that I did it, and people think I loved defense. No, I loved the game. It was how I got I got on the floor. If it would have been taking 10 3s a game, I would have done that. I’m happy with how things worked out. You can make a living (playing defense). It takes focus. A lot of times guys give up when someone has 25 on them. It takes a special personality. Unfortunately, a lot of guys aren’t that way.

How does it feel that the Spurs are still using you as a role model?

It’s an honor, because you don’t always get the opportunity to create a career like mine. I came from nowhere and I ended up with championships. Through hard work. It wasn’t about the draft pick. I think it shows you can do anything if you set your mind to it. I would feel inspired if someone told me a guy who didn’t get drafted had the success I had.